TeamPlayedFine39

I'm confused by the idea that so many people believe Watts to be a completely lost cause, yet also believe another club would be willing to trade him in. If he was actually as bad and fragile as many seem to believe, surely he would be no use to anyone and would be delisted. There is obviously a decent player there and quite a few clubs are interested in having him.

Whether he stays or goes, is walked or pushed, this should not be playing-out in the public domain like this. Under Roos and PJ we ran a very tight ship in the off season. The disputes that leaked out at the start of the year and now the possible trading of Watts are issues that should be dealt with in-house and not through individuals communicating with each other through the media.

Good on him. Even after the way the club has operated over his time with us, it sounds like his attitude is the same as the thousands of long-suffering fans - he loves the club. Yes, there are many points that he can improve on as a player, but it's great to hear someone on our list so steadfast in their desire to stay and be part of what we're building. Who knows if he stays or goes, but contrast this attitude with the news coming out of the club in trade weeks 2011-15... it is a very, very different place.

The gambling issue is what clubs will be particularly worried about I would think.

I can honestly say I don't mind which team wins, I have nothing strong for or against either. I'm still looking forward to the match though, as I think they both play an entertaining brand of football. If I had to guess... I think Adelaide may have too much fire-power up forward, but can definitely see the Tiger's running, pressure game getting them up.

Sorry if it's been said already, but which page is all this on..?

It raises the interesting question, that if Jones was to step aside in a year or two... who joins Viney as the co-captain???

It all has to come down to value. I wasn't keen to see him traded and thought that, with his contract, he'd be no chance to be. However, if the offer is right you have to consider it. An early second or late first may be too much to ignore; with that said, I'd also gladly trade watts for a player like Hartlett. It also probably indicates that the club has a fair bit of faith in Weideman coming on, as Pederson is getting a little long in the tooth and has never put an entire season together. The Weid must be part of the intermediate to long term plans. Interesting off-season ahead.

Jack Watts for pick 29 reminds me of the great Stef Martin fire sale of 2012.

Agree with most above - he has an uncanny ability to find the goals in traffic and had a few cameo performances during the year where he was able to kick a few in quick succession. He has a bit of work to do on his game though, but hopefully with greater fitness and senior AFL experience he can can stay involved in games more consistently.

I think it was Luke Hodge who wrote an article outlining an average week as a captain. The demands out on their time for additional meetings, etc are crazy! It's a wonder it's not a ten man job.

Picks 1 and 4 in the 2008 draft. Hartlett was shopped around last year but there were no buyers as he was on a big contract to Port.

Yeah- looked set to really establish himself a couple of years ago but has stagnated since then. He'd be an interesting acquisition as some who, like Watts, might benefit from a change of scenery.

2015 vs WCE . 29 disposals, 5 tackles, 6 I50s 2016 vs Port . 29 disposals, 1 goal, 5 tackles, 2 I50s 2017 vs Nth . 25 disposals, 2 goal, 6 tackles, 10 I50s He's a very, very consistent contributor. I fail to see how our loses are placed at his feet, while others are avoiding any blame. FWIW, Viney had 19, 17 and 21 disposals in the corresponding games. If anything, it's Viney that isn't following-up the week after a big win.

Hopefully we'll find out for sure next year! One thing we do know, is that in our biggest wins of the last few years (Geelong 2015, Hawthorn 2016, Adelaide 2017) Jones has played very well.

Point taken. In my defence... I imagine that a hen's teeth would be pretty hard.

They're two of the examples you gave... you mentioned those two. I think people were not loving Bugg's goal kicking leading up to the Mills suspension. FWIW I like Bugg, but I don't love him as he doesn't make a great contribution to the team.

Phenomenal second half of the year and won over a very, very sceptical fan base. If he's within 60m of the goal - get the ball in his hands!

The slight against Silvia and Moloney was their workrate - check their tackle numbers and you'll see they weren't particularly 'hard' workers or 'hard' players. The slight against Bugg is that he's not a fantastic footballer. In addition there's nothing 'hard' about king hitting a 20 year old. Yes - we love Clayton Oliver as he is a contested ball machine, has his head in at every contest and is as 'hard' as hen's teeth. We also love Jetta, Jones, Viney, Hogan, Petracca, Brayshaw, Hunt and Vince. All 'hard' players who go when it's their turn and put their head over the ball. I also would not object to bringing in Brighton Grammar's very own Josh Kelly into our ranks.

Agree with this. This is a community that we could engage in the sport; it's a huge untapped market. Socially speaking, getting involved in sport, whether watching or playing, is a great way to get migrant communities engaged in their new home. Not sure what sort of drafting privileges the club might get from this zone, but a lot of Sudanese kids have incredible physical attributes that are perfect for Australian Football.

Good God! I just realised I did the same thing! The thread title is: 'Should Jones remain captain?' and I voted YES. I didn't read the Poll question carefully and now realise i voted for Jones to relinquish the co-captaincy. Whoops.

Agree 100% - but I would have thought this is a match committee call. I would assume that Misson says to them that a player is ready to return, then the match committee decides if that through the VFL or AFL. You're right though - we've rushed back some stars who have seemed to be well short of a gallop (Watts, Gawn, Hogan + Brayshaw last year)

I agree - but, again you could mount a good case for that being a mental thing. I think our mental fragility and inexperience outweighs our physical fitness.

So you've stopped using the word 'sooked'. That's good.

You've twice said that he sooked when he was made co-captain. This has been revealed by your own link to be false. It's clear you don't rate Jones asa captain, that's fine; but support your arguments with facts, rather than fiction.